Communication system and method

ABSTRACT

A communication system comprises a mobile reporting device and a server. The mobile reporting device comprises a signal receiver configured to receive data usable to determine the location of the reporting device; a communication module configured to transmit data to and receive data from a server, the data including location data from the location determiner; a display including a user interface. The server comprises a database with a location module configured to store a default room location for a plurality of personnel; a server communication module configured to transmit data to and receive data from the reporting device; an information module configured to provide information on the personnel; a controller configured to determine, based on the location data, which personnel default locations are within a predetermined distance of the reporting device, to control the server communication module to transmit to the reporting device information from the information module regarding the personnel associated with the default locations within the predetermined distance for display on the user interface.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/720,303 filed on Sep. 29, 2017 entitled“COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND METHOD,” which is a continuation applicationof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/211,115 filed on Jul. 15, 2016,now U.S. Pat. No. 9,820,107, entitled “COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND METHOD,”which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.62/193,850, filed on Jul. 17, 2015 entitled “COMMUNICATION SYSTEM ANDMETHOD,” the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates generally to communication systems andmethods.

BACKGROUND

In large organizations it is practically impossible for all colleaguesto be aware of and familiar with all other colleagues. This can beparticularly exacerbated for senior management or leaders within anorganization who may come across a great many colleagues at diversegeographical locations. With time often at a premium and personalinteractions being of such importance, this can cause difficulties.

SUMMARY

In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, there isdisclosed a communication system comprising: a mobile reporting deviceand a server; the mobile reporting device comprising: a location signalreceiver configured to receive data usable to determine the location ofthe reporting device; a communication module configured to transmit datato and receive data from a server, the data including location data fromthe location signal receiver; a display including a user interface; theserver comprising: a database with a location module configured to storea default room location for a plurality of personnel; a servercommunication module configured to transmit data to and receive datafrom the reporting device; an information module configured to provideinformation on the personnel; a controller configured to determine,based on the location data, which personnel default locations are withina predetermined distance of the reporting device, to control the servercommunication module to transmit to the reporting device informationfrom the information module regarding the personnel associated with thedefault locations within the predetermined distance for display on theuser interface.

In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, there is alsodisclosed a communication system comprising: a mobile reporting device,a mobile communication device and a server; the mobile reporting devicecomprising: a first location signal receiver configured to receive datausable to determine the location of the reporting device; a firstcommunication module configured to transmit data to and receive datafrom a server, the data including location data from the first locationsignal receiver; a display including a user interface; the mobilecommunication device comprising: a second location signal receiverconfigured to receive data usable to determine the location of themobile communication device; a second communication module configured totransmit and receive data to the server, the data including locationdata from the second location signal receiver; the server comprising: aserver communication module configured to transmit data to and receivedata from the reporting device; an information module configured toprovide information on the personnel; a controller configured todetermine, based on the location data, which mobile communication devicelocations are within a predetermined distance of the reporting device,to control the server communication module to transmit to the reportingdevice information from the information module regarding the personnelassociated with the reporting devices within the predetermined distance.

In some embodiments, the information is selected from one or more of:

-   -   how to say name of personnel in written form and/or as an audio        message;    -   image of personnel;    -   personal interests of personnel;    -   assignments of personnel;    -   personnel performance statistics;    -   area performance statistics relevant to personnel; achievements        of personnel; and    -   goals of personnel.

In some embodiments, the predetermined distance is selected from one of10 meters or 5 meters or 3 meters.

In some embodiments, the server includes a map module, the map modulebeing configured to store mapping information of the locality includinga 2D or 3D rendering of the current location. And wherein the server isconfigured to provide as the information a map indicating where thelocated person is located relative to the current location of thereporting device.

In some embodiments, the mobile reporting device is a lap top computer,a PDA, a tablet, a mobile phone, a smart watch, or smart glasses.

In some embodiments, the mobile reporting device is configured todisplay an image of any personnel within the predetermined distance andwhereby an individual image can be selected by a user to view theinformation associated with the specified person.

In some embodiments, the location signal receiver comprises a sensorconfigured to receive a light signal and to process the light signal todetermine a modulation of the light signal and to transmit to the serverlight signal modulation data.

In some embodiments, the system further comprises a plurality ofmodulated light emitters, wherein each emitter has a differentmodulation from the others and the server database is configured wherebythe location of the reporting device is determined from the modulatedlight signals.

In some embodiments, the user interface includes the option for thereporting device not to receive certain data types as selected by auser.

In some embodiments, the predetermined distance is adjusted dynamicallyover time according to the distance to the nearest communication device,or to maintain the number of communication devices below a predeterminedthreshold.

In some embodiments, the information includes comparative informationshowing the change of the information over time, where relevant.

In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, there is alsodisclosed a communication method for use with a system comprising: amobile reporting device and a server; the method comprising: the mobilereporting device determining the location of the reporting device;transmitting to and receiving data from a server, the data includinglocation data from the location determiner; storing in the server adefault room location for a plurality of personnel; transmitting data toand receiving data from the reporting device; the server including aninformation module configured to provide information on the personnel;determining, based on the location data, which personnel defaultlocations are within a predetermined distance of the reporting device,to control the server to transmit to the reporting device informationfrom the information module regarding the personnel associated with thedefault locations within the predetermined distance for display on theuser interface.

In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, there is alsodisclosed a communication method for use with a system comprising: amobile reporting device, a mobile communication device and a server; themethod comprising the steps of: determining the location of thereporting device; transmitting to and receiving data from a server, thedata including location data from the first location determiner;determining the location of the mobile communication device;transmitting to and receiving data from the server, the data includinglocation data from the second location determiner; providing informationon the personnel; a controller configured to determine, based on thelocation data, which mobile communication device locations are within apredetermined distance of the reporting device, to control the server totransmit to the reporting device information from the information moduleregarding the personnel associated with the reporting devices within thepredetermined distance.

Any combination or permutation of the embodiments is envisioned. Itshould be appreciated that all combinations of the foregoing conceptsand additional concepts discussed in greater detail below (provided suchconcepts are not mutually inconsistent) are contemplated as being partof the inventive subject matter disclosed herein. In particular, allcombinations of claimed subject matter appearing at the end of thisdisclosure are contemplated as being part of the inventive subjectmatter disclosed herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Exemplary embodiments will now be described, by way of example only,with reference to the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of an exemplary communication system,in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a location in which thecommunication system shown in FIG. 1 could operate, in accordance withsome embodiments.

FIG. 3 is schematic illustration similar to FIG. 2 with a userapproaching the location, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 4 is schematic illustration similar to FIG. 2 with a userapproaching to within a predetermined distance of default locations, inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of identification information displayed on adisplay of the mobile reporting device, in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of personnel information displayed on thedisplay of the mobile reporting device, in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of another exemplary communicationsystem, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration of a location in which thecommunication system shown in FIG. 7 could operate, in accordance withsome embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of operation of thecommunication system, in accordance with some embodiments.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings, there is illustrated acommunication system 100 according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

The communication system 100 comprises a mobile reporting device 200 anda server 300.

The mobile reporting device 200 comprises a location signal receiver210, a communication module 220 and a display 230.

Typically, the mobile reporting device will be any of: a smart phone, alap-top, a tablet, a PDA, a smart watch or other wearable smarttechnology.

The location signal receiver 210 can be any suitable receiver to be usedto determine the location of the mobile reporting device 200. For thepresent embodiment a camera of the mobile reporting device 200 is usedas a location signal receiver 210 as explained in more detail below.

The communication module 220 is configured to transmit data to andreceive data from the server 300. Typically this will be over atelephony network, but other wireless communication channels such asWi-Fi, iBeacons and Bluetooth™ or the like can be used.

The display 230 can be constructed and arranged to include a userinterface for the mobile reporting device 200.

The server 300 comprises a database 310 with a location module 320, aserver communication module 330, an information module 340, a controller350 and a memory 360. The location module 320 stores default roomlocations for a plurality of personnel. These can be set up in any waydesired, but typically will be an office location, a work stationlocation, a meeting room location or a default meeting location for eachof a plurality of people.

The server communication module 330 transmits data to and receives datafrom the mobile reporting device 200. Typically this will be over atelephony network, but other wireless communication channels such asWi-Fi and Bluetooth™ can be used.

The information module 340 includes a database containing relevantinformation on personnel. The information contained could be of anytype, but examples may include but not be limited to:

-   -   how to say name of personnel in written form and/or as an audio        message;    -   image of personnel;    -   personal interests of personnel;    -   assignments of personnel;    -   personnel performance statistics;    -   area performance statistics relevant to personnel;    -   achievements of personnel; and    -   goals of personnel.

The information in the database may also include hierarchicalinformation in the case of the personnel being members of anorganization, typically employees within an organization.

Referring to FIG. 2 of the accompanying drawings, the system 100 isconfigured to operate in a location 400. In this exemplary embodimentthe location is a building, e.g., an office, but it will be appreciatedthat the system can be used in any location with varying degrees ofprecision dependant on the location technology available. The location400 includes a plurality of rooms, including offices 410, corridors 420and storage areas 430. Throughout the location 400 are a plurality ofemitters 440 or related electronic devices that generate, output, and/orprocess signals, and are intended to enable the location of the mobilereporting device 200.

In one embodiment, the emitters 440 are modulated visible lightemitters, an example of which being ByteLight™ emitters. Each emitteremits visible light with a unique modulation. These can be picked up bythe camera 210 of the mobile reporting device 200. The modulation of thevisible light is not visible to the human eye, but can be detected bythe camera 210 of the mobile reporting device 200. This can be used togenerate a modulation signal that is transmitted from the mobilereporting device 200 using the communication module 220 to the server300 via the server communication module 330. The server 300 has a memory360 containing data representing a 2D or 3D map of the location 400 andthe positioning of the emitters 440 within the location 400. Thus, basedon the modulation signal(s) received by the server it can deduce thelocation of the mobile reporting device 200 within the location 400.

Within the location 400 are one or more default locations 510, 520, 530Typically these are locations associated with a particular user, such asan office or meeting room as determined from the location module 320 ofthe server 300.

Referring to FIGS. 3-6 of the accompanying drawings an example of acommunication method using the communication system described above willnow be described.

FIG. 3 shows a 2D representation of the location 400 with a user 500approaching the location 400. The user 500 has a mobile reporting device200.

The server 300 determines the position of the mobile reporting device200, and thereby the user 500, using the emitters 440 as describedabove.

Referring to FIG. 4, as the user 500 gets to within a predetermineddistance of default locations 510, 520, 530 and 540 of personnel at thelocation 400 the display 230 of the mobile reporting device 200 displaysidentifiers 550, 560, 570 and 580 of the personnel associated with therespective default locations as shown in FIG. 5.

The predetermined distance can be set to be any desired. Exemplarypredetermined distances are 3 meters, 5 meters and 10 meters.

The identifiers 550, 560, 570 and 580 can be, for instance, names orimages of the personnel.

The user 500 can then select a personnel identifier, say 550 in thiscase and then the mobile reporting device 200 transmits a request forinformation to the server 300, which responds with the information onthe relevant person. An example of a display of personnel information isshown in FIG. 6 of the accompanying drawings.

Additionally, using the position information of the user and the defaultlocation in combination with the 2D/3D map information, the mobilereporting device 200 can display a 2D/3D map indicating the currentlocation of the device 200 and the default location 510 of the selectedperson.

Referring to FIG. 7 of the accompanying drawings, there is shown acommunication system of an alternative embodiment. In FIG. 7 there isshown a communication system comprising a plurality of mobile reportingdevices 600, 610, 620, 630 (there can be any number) and a server 300.Each of the mobile reporting devices 600, 610, 620, 630 is substantiallysimilar to the mobile reporting device 200 described above, so they willnot be described in further detail. The server 300 is substantiallysimilar to the server 300 of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 8 of the accompanying drawings showing a location 400,each device 600, 610, 620, 630 is associated with a user 640, 650, 660,670. The association is created by a user logging into a device 600,610, 620, 630. The server 300 matches the log in details with personalinformation in the information module 340.

Once logged in a user 640, 650, 660, 670 is classed as a leader or anon-leader. A device classed as a leader can be regarded as an activedevice. An active device is, in effect, looking for relevant personnelto report on. A non-leader device can be regarded as a passive devicethat, in effect, is just transmitting a location so acts as a mobilecommunication device. In this embodiment, the user 640 using device 600is classified as a leader and the other users are classified asnon-leaders.

As the leader device 600 gets to within a predetermined distance ofanother device 610, 620, 630, the leader device 600 displays identifiersof those individuals who are within the predetermined distance, e.g. asshown in FIG. 5. The user 640 can then select an individual in the samemanner as described above in relation to FIG. 6. The user 640 can thenapproach any of the users 650, 660, 670 of the other devices 610, 620,630 with knowledge about the respective user. Thus barriers tointeraction can be diminished.

Although in this embodiment the device 600 is described as being thesame as the other devices 610, 620, 630, it will be appreciated that thedevices can differ.

A feature of exemplary embodiments can be that a user can configuretheir device or their account settings to be applied to the device, toconfigure the information that is presented.

For instance, a user can select the default locations or personnel itwishes to be notified of. In that way, a user will not receive theunwanted clutter of notifications about default locations or personnelabout which the user has no interest.

A user can also select from the available types of information as towhat is to be displayed. Information may be sorted into groups to enablea user to select types of information. For instance, there could begroups of: personal information, service history, targets, currentperformance, analytics, and so on.

Information can be presented, for instance, in a hierarchical mannerfrom company, location department, section, individual, and so on.

It will be appreciated that the embodiments of providing informationabout default locations and about other devices can be combined togetherso that a user is notified of both default locations and devicelocations (associated with personnel) at the same time. Thepredetermined distances may differ for each. The display 230 may tagwhether the location is based on a default location or on anotherdevice.

Another configurable option on the device 200 is to adjust thepredetermined distance over time according to the distance to thenearest communication device or to maintain the number of communicationdevices (non-leaders) below a predetermined threshold.

It will be appreciated that in some hierarchical organizational uses, adevice may be a leader device for those beneath the user in thehierarchy and a non-leader device in relation to those above the user inthe hierarchy.

Referring to FIG. 9 of the accompanying drawings, there is shown a flowdiagram illustrating implementation of exemplary embodiments for abusiness environment from the perspective of a manager operating aleader's device. In describing the method, reference may be made toelements of FIGS. 1-8. For example, some or all of the method of FIG. 9may be performed at computer-based elements of FIGS. 1-8.

In step 700 the information module 340 of the server 300 has storedtherein information about personnel. This can be any of the informationreferred to above, but is not limited thereto.

In step 710 the information is sorted so that a manager or leader isassociated with their direct reports. This enables subsequent filteringof data if required.

In step 720 a user logs on to their account on the mobile reportingdevice 200 or 600. Other users, direct reports of the manager, arealready logged on to their corresponding devices. The manager can makeselections as to the information he or she wishes to be presented with.

In step 730, as the manager uses an electronic device and navigatesaround a location with geo-location facilities installed, the locationof the manager's device 600 is tracked along with the locations of othercorresponding devices 610, 620, 630.

In step 740, when the device 600 comes within a predetermined distanceof a default location 510, 520, 530, 540 or of another device 610, 620,630, the device 600 displays identification information of theindividuals associated with the locations or devices (see FIG. 5).

In step 750, the manager can select an individual and be presented withpersonnel information on the individual (see FIG. 6).

Thus, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a way for a user tobe informed about the people they are about to meet in various ways.

Although a few preferred embodiments have been shown and described, itwill be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes andmodifications might be made without departing from the scope of thepresent development, as defined in the appended claims.

At least some of the example embodiments described herein may beconstructed, partially or wholly, using dedicated special-purposehardware. Terms such as ‘component’, ‘module’ or ‘unit’ used herein mayinclude, but are not limited to, a hardware device, such as circuitry inthe form of discrete or integrated components, a Field Programmable GateArray (FPGA) or Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), whichperforms certain tasks or provides the associated functionality.

In some embodiments, the described elements may be configured to resideon a tangible, persistent, addressable storage medium and may beconfigured to execute on one or more processors. These functionalelements may in some embodiments include, by way of example, components,such as software components, object-oriented software components, classcomponents and task components, processes, functions, attributes,procedures, subroutines, segments of program code, drivers, firmware,microcode, circuitry, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays,and variables.

Although the example embodiments have been described with reference tothe components, modules and units discussed herein, such functionalelements may be combined into fewer elements or separated intoadditional elements. Various combinations of optional features have beendescribed herein, and it will be appreciated that described features maybe combined in any suitable combination.

In particular, the features of any one example embodiment may becombined with features of any other embodiment, as appropriate, exceptwhere such combinations are mutually exclusive. Throughout thisspecification, the term “comprising” or “comprises” means including thecomponent(s) specified but not to the exclusion of the presence ofothers.

What is claimed is:
 1. A mobile reporting device for a communicationsystem, comprising: a location signal receiver configured to receivedata usable to determine the location of the reporting device; acommunication module configured to transmit data to and receive datafrom a server, the data including location data from the first locationsignal receiver; a display including a user interface that displays fromthe location data a two dimensional (2D) or three dimensional (3D) mapindicating a current location of the mobile reporting device and adefault location for a person of interest within a predetermineddistance of the mobile reporting device.
 2. The mobile reporting deviceof claim 1, wherein the location signal receiver includes a camera. 3.The mobile reporting device of claim 1, wherein the communication moduleoutputs a personal identifier selected at the display to the computerserver, and in response receives information for display.
 4. The mobilereporting device of claim 1, wherein the predetermined distance isadjusted dynamically over time according to the distance to the nearestcommunication device, or to maintain the number of communication devicesbelow a predetermined threshold.
 5. The mobile reporting device of claim1, wherein the mobile reporting device is a lap top computer, a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a tablet, a mobile phone, a smart watch, orsmart glasses.
 6. The mobile reporting device of claim 1, wherein themobile reporting device is configured to display an image of anypersonnel within the predetermined distance and whereby an individualimage can be selected by a user to view information associated with aspecified person.
 7. A communication system comprising: a plurality ofmobile reporting devices, each mobile reporting device comprising: asignal receiver configured to receive data usable to determine thelocation of the reporting device; and a communication module configuredto transmit data to and receive data from a server, the data includinglocation data from the location determiner; and a computer serverconfigured to transmit data to and receive data from a mobile reportingdevice of the plurality of mobile reporting devices, including locationdata of the mobile reporting device, and to provide information on aplurality of personnel, wherein each mobile reporting device isclassified as a leader device or a non-leader device, wherein the leaderdevice searches for personnel of interest at a location within a generallocation, the non-leader device transmits location data to the computerserver, and the leader device displays an identifier related to thenon-leader device when the leader device is a predetermined distancefrom the non-leader device.
 8. The communication system of claim 7,further comprising a plurality of modulated visible light emitters thatemit visible light having a unique identification detected by a cameraof the mobile reporting device.
 9. The communication system of claim 7,wherein the computer server comprises an information module that storesthe information regarding users of the plurality of mobile reportingdevices, and outputs the information regarding the personnel to theleader device.
 10. The communication system of claim 7, wherein thecomputer server is configured to provide to the leader device a mapindicating where a user of the non-leader device is located relative tothe current location of the leader device.
 11. The communication systemof claim 7, wherein the computer server generates information about thedefault locations and about other devices that are combined together sothat the leader device displays for a user both default locations anddevice locations associated with the personnel at the same time.
 12. Acommunication system comprising: a controller configured to identifydefault locations of people that are within a predetermined distance ofa mobile device so that information regarding the people associated withthe default locations is received by the mobile device; and a pluralityof modulated light emitters, wherein each light emitter emits lighthaving a unique identification for detection by the mobile device, whichgenerates a modulation signal that is processed to determine a locationof the mobile device relative to the default locations.
 13. Thecommunication system of claim 12, further comprising a communicationdevice that includes data representing a map of the location and thepositioning of the emitters within the location to determine thelocation of the mobile device within the location.
 14. The communicationsystem of claim 13, wherein the communication device and the mobiledevice communicate over a Bluetooth™ communication channel.
 15. Acommunication system comprising: a database configured to store adefault location for a plurality of people; a computer server configuredto transmit data to and receive data from a mobile reporting device,including location data of the mobile reporting device, and to provideinformation on the plurality of people; a controller configured todetermine, based on the location data, which default locations of ageneral location are within a predetermined distance of the mobilereporting device, to control the computer server to transmit to themobile reporting device information regarding the people associated withthe default locations within the predetermined distance for display onthe mobile reporting device; and a plurality of light emitters, whereineach light emitter emits light with a unique modulation for receipt bythe mobile reporting device, which generates a modulation signal that isprocessed by the computer server to determine a location of the mobilereporting device within the general location, wherein the computerserver is configured to store mapping information including a 2D or 3Dmap of the general location and the positioning of the light emitterswithin the general location.
 16. The communication system of claim 15,wherein the light emitters are modulated visible light emitters thatemit visible light with a unique modulation detected by a camera of themobile reporting device.
 17. The communication system of claim 15,wherein the computer server comprises an information module that storesthe information regarding the people and outputs the informationregarding the people to the mobile reporting device under control by thecontroller.
 18. The communication system of claim 15, wherein thecomputer server is configured to provide to the mobile reporting devicea map indicating where the located person is located relative to thecurrent location of the reporting device.
 19. The communication systemof claim 15, wherein the computer server generates information about thedefault locations and about other devices that are combined together sothat the mobile reporting device displays for a user both defaultlocations and device locations associated with the people at the sametime.
 20. The communication system of claim 15, wherein the computerserver determines the position of the mobile reporting device using thelight emitters.